


6 Hours

by psycho4sans



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Drama, Gen, My First Fanfic, this is not a happy fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-05-23 10:15:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6113346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psycho4sans/pseuds/psycho4sans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The resets keep coming, the same six hours over and over and over again.  Sometimes genocide, sometimes not. The only constant?</p><p>Papyrus dies.</p><p>It's okay. After a hundred resets, Sans doesn't even care.  He's barely able to feel anything anymore. But then there's another reset and something happens. </p><p>Nothing will be the same again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Something Is Different

Snow fell softly on the bridge leading to Snowdin. At the other end, the human stood silently, waiting and looking very bored. The entire image in front of him — the bridge, the snow, the human standing there — held a very strange and surreal appearance. It made him feel something he couldn't quite put into words. If he had been forced to describe it, he could only compare it to a dream.

Specifically one of those strange dreams where you can only move in extremely slow increments, as if an unseeing force was holding you back, and you couldn't speak, even when all you wanted to do was scream at the very top of your lungs. You'd open your mouth and yell, but nothing would come out.

That's what it felt like.

"...bro?"

Papyrus blinked. The feeling vanished.

"Uh...YEAH! THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!" he said, finishing his thought. "NYEH! HEH! ....Heh???"

He walked away quickly, wondering what his next move should be. He didn't give that strange moment a second thought, despite its lingering effects. He must confront the human and he wouldn't hold back this time. Yes, this time...this time, he'll capture them for sure! Even if...the human seemed much different than he expected. He hadn't expected this to be quite so hard!

As Papyrus entered Snowdin, a shiver ran up his spine. That same disturbing feeling, almost akin to dread. Papyrus stopped. He never felt this way before. What was it? Could he coming down with something?

His neck itched.

Papyrus rubbed the vertebrae distractedly, shaking his head. No, he wasn't about to be stopped now! He was so close. He could almost taste his new found popularity!

Walking forward as if his feet moved on their own, Papyrus prepared for his final confrontation with the human.

 

***

 

Sans watched Papyrus' back as he walked away. He'd watched his brother walk down that path how many times now? Yet this....this felt different. What was that pause? He never paused like that before. Not that he remembered anyways. Then again, it wasn't like he remembered every detail of what was going to happen, or if it would even happen the same way every time. Still...it felt strange. How long has it been since something new happened?

He blinked out of his thoughts as the kid finally approached him. They looked dead bored. Sans wondered why they kept doing this. What on earth could they get from this? Whatever. Even when Sans wanted to say something different, he couldn't. The words would never come. He was stuck saying the same old thing.

 

*here, let me give you some advice about fighting my brother.

*don’t.

*capiche?

 

There had been a time when Sans didn't remember the words he spoke each reset, when he actually believed they could make a difference. But as the resets continued, over and over and over again, he began to remember more, notice more. But despite this new awareness, he still couldn't change anything. He did try at the beginning, but no other words or actions came to mind other than the ones he knew already. His mind just drew a blank. He could always just stay silent, but that took a will he no longer had.

The kid just stared at him blankly before ambling down the path littered in Papyrus' deep footprints. Sans didn't have to wonder whether or not Papyrus would be spared. He didn't need to read the human's face or wonder if they'd take his words to heart this time. It didn't even matter whether the kid killed every monster in the vicinity or not harmed a single soul up to this moment. Those were no longer reliable tells for what the human was about to do next.

It just didn't matter.

It stopped mattering over a hundred resets ago.

No matter what...

His brother was going to die.

 

* * *

 


	2. Something Is Wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listening to: [Max Richter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvxD0uQ_thc&list=PL4J9inLEUMlLOCNVR_jC40ZXoxsG6kuG1)

It had started as best as Papyrus could have hoped, despite the eerie déjà vu. He'd shaken off his complex feelings (He couldn't believe he almost offered them his hand in friendship!) and refocused at the task at hand. Capture the human.

Capture...

The human wasn't making it easy, attacking immediately. Papyrus' HP bled away.

Then again, what did he expect? They were a human, after all. Maybe they just needed a friend....

No. Stop that! He needed to focus.

...But it was hard.

Something was wrong.

It seemed the human was sensing it too. Their attacks came with more hesitation. It would be so easy to win now! Except, his own attacks were coming out all wrong. He was trembling so badly. His body itched all over.

Something was wrong. ...Something was coming. Something dreadful, something painful, though Papyrus didn't know what. It scared him.

What was happening?

The human slashed at him and his HP fell further. Papyrus tried hard to play it cool. But he had a sinking feeling he was failing miserably.

He didn't want to do this anymore! But when he tried, he couldn't stop. It felt like he was no longer in control of his own body. Not even the words coming out of his mouth. He felt utterly detached, watching everything as if he were inside another monster's body, but everything they said and did felt so familiar, as if he had done this before in a dream. There was that feeling again.

"MY BROTHER WILL... WELL, HE WON'T CHANGE VERY MUCH."

_Sans...help! Something...something really bad is going to happen and I can't stop! Please!_

It wasn't like he wasn't trying! He was trying very hard to stop! What was this? He knew every word he was going to say before he said it. He knew every attack, every move before he did them. He even knew...he even knew how this was going to end. And...god, he had to make it stop...

_PLEASE! STOP!_

And it did.

"HUMAN... IT'S STRANGE...."

The human stopped, eyes wide and something like elation in them.

Every word hurt, like grinding them out a locked jaw. Papyrus sunk to his knees, his arms outstretched, fingers trembling. It was very strange indeed, fighting against an invisible force, to have to struggle to simply not move. Sans would probably laugh if he saw him now, struggling so hard to do nothing at all.

"I CAN'T SEEM TO CONTROL MYSELF. PERHAPS... MAYBE... IT'S THE SAME FOR YOU? IF SO... IF SO I WON'T.... I WON'T BLAME YOU."

The joy in the human's eyes faded and they seemed to sigh heavily. They raised the toy knife again.

Papyrus smiled, his entire being shaking. He had to...

"HOWEVER, HUMAN.... IF YOU COULD... CAN YOU TRY? JUST TRY TO DO SOMETHING... DIFFERENT. SOMETHING... GOOD. PLEASE. I KNOW YOU HAVE IT IN YOU. I...I BELIEVE."

That had been the wrong word to say. Papyrus twitched violently. Not just him, but the whole world seemed to glitch out horribly for a moment, like a scratched DVD jumping ahead after several seconds of distorted images.

It hurt.

The human blinked and it was over. They stared at their hand. They hadn't moved. And yet... the blow was struck? Papyrus' head fell off his neck, and he wasn't on his knees anymore, but suddenly back on his feet?

But then his body dissolved and his skull fell, landing in his own dust.

It hurt so bad.

"ST...STILL! I BELIEVE IN YOU."

_Please, make it stop._

"YOU CAN DO A LITTLE BETTER! EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK SO!"

_No more...please._

"I... I PROMISE."

_...help me....sans._

And like that, Papyrus was gone.

 

***

The human blinked again. Wait, this was different. This was very different! That was Genocide dialogue and yet — and they quickly checked again — their LVL was still at 1. They hadn't touched a single monster before Papyrus, so what was this?

A grin spread on their face as they hurried forward, eager to see what else had changed.

 

* * *

 


	3. Dust to Dust

On Sans' windowsill, right above his bare mattress, was a gardening trowel inside a mason jar. Though the trowel had scratches and a bit of rust at its point, the jar appeared brand new without a single mark or even a speck of dust on its gold lid. He couldn't remember if he had bought it at Gerson's or at the shop in town. Not that his memory was bad, it has just been that long. But none of that time reflected on the jar, its glass pristine. The trowel was a different case. It had never been brand new. He had "borrowed" it from Asgore's garden. It was nearing the end of a reset and he had walked down to the castle on some whim. He knew he still had some time before the human arrived. Though even by then, Sans wouldn't have minded skipping that whole song and dance. Not like he had the choice. But still...

He'd given up following the human's progress ages ago (apparently for some things he did have a choice) and he didn't feel like a nap that day. So he took a walk. When he arrived at the throne room, it was early enough that King Fluffybuns wasn't out watering the flowers yet. There, half buried in the soft earth, was the metal trowel, well loved and put to good use. It was there, amidst the golden flowers, that he'd gotten the idea. The story of Asriel, the King's son and the golden flower. Sans remembered feeling shame then, since the idea never occurred to him before. After all, he only had six hours. Less actually. He didn't really have time to...

He had taken the trowel, knowing the king wouldn't mind, wouldn't even notice it missing. It sat inside the jar now, the light from the window reflecting off its metallic surface, particles of ordinary house dust hanging in the air.

Sans stood there staring at his windowsill for a solid five minutes. That's how long the fight usually took. He stopped watching it in person when he realized that just made his "condition" worse. When you watch the same thing over and over again, no matter how horrible it is, it...it begins to lose its impact. It loses its meaning. And that's the last thing he wanted. It's why he was doing this to begin with.

Once the five minutes were up, he let out a heavy sigh and took the jar.

The house was unbearably quiet, but he had gotten used to that too. It was still a relief when he stepped outside to the whistling wind and the soft chatter it carried from across town. Sans glanced over to the right, watching the townsfolk in the distance go about the same actions, the same conversations, the same carefree existence. He searched his feelings, wondering if he envied them.

He didn't.

He didn't feel anything at all.

***

Around the middle of this death streak, Sans used to feverishly pray that he would be wrong this time. That he'll walk right into Papyrus, who would be returning excitedly, filled with nervous, happy energy at making a new friend, a wide grin on his brother's face.

Now that idea seemed like a bad joke. Even worse than any pun he could ever come up with. Hell, he'd probably be more pissed than relieved. ...Though that wouldn't be so bad either.

Sans mused on this for a bit as he walked through the dense fog, fingering the glass jar in his grip.

Anger. Rage. Sadness. Hysteria.

Any of those emotions would be really nice right about now.

The mist faded and there it was, sitting in a small mound at the very edge of town.

Papyrus' dust.

Just as predicted.

The dark gray powder sat in stark contrast to the pure white snow that covered the ground. That made his job a whole lot easier. Kneeling carefully, Sans used the trowel to scoop up the dust and pour it into the jar before the wind blew it away. Some of it already had been carried off, but he was sure Papyrus wouldn't mind. It was sure to land on something Papyrus liked, as long as it didn't make its way to Hotland, anyways.

Sans filled the jar to its brim and screwed on the lid. He stared at it, searching his feelings.

Nope. Nothing.

He sighed and got to his feet... where he hesitated and not for the first time.

Why do this? It was such a pain.

But that was the point.

***

Back inside the house, Sans placed the jar on the table and entered the kitchen. Opening the fridge, his eyes scanned the many tupperware containers of spaghetti until his eyes landed on the last plastic box at the bottom and to the back. It was very old and had ice crusted around the lid. The fridge always did freeze things in the back, but he was too lazy to fix it. Not like it mattered.

He took the box and pried the half frozen spaghetti into one of his old pie tins and put it in the oven for a few minutes. His mind was empty as he went through this routine for the eleventh time -- after this, he'll probably lose count. He didn't know why. It was part of the rules.

Who cares?

He set his single plate and fork next to the jar on the table. When the spaghetti was warmed up enough, he pulled it out of the oven and onto his plate. It was bad.

Even without a nose, his eye sockets watered at the smell. This specimen had been Papyrus' first "successful" attempt at making spaghetti. Actually, it was the first time he had anything to bring home. The dishes his brother made with Undyne usually ended up on the walls. Papyrus had been so proud that Sans managed to convince him to save it, like a souvenir, in the fridge. It had been utterly inedible back then, and now it had a nice coating of mold and fungus to liven things up a bit...literally.

Sitting down, Sans picked up the jar and carefully unscrewed the lid. He stared down at the dust. It almost looked like ground black pepper. He had to continuously remind himself that this was Papyrus.

This was what was left of his brother, Papyrus.

He searched...

Still nothing.

Sans sighed softly and poured his brother's dust on the spaghetti, mixing with his fork until the jar was empty. He set the empty, dusty jar aside and stared at the meal in front of him.

He wondered if he should say something. He always wondered if he should say something. When he first did this, his hands were shaking so badly, he barely could fill the jar halfway. Touching his brother's dust had been so...upsetting. The whole experience the first time had been so damn emotional and painful.

But now...

He twirled his fork into the mixture, gathering red, moldy, dusty noodles onto the prongs.

Sans took a breath.

"Bone-appétit..." he murmured, knowing Papyrus would have hated it, and took a bite.

It was bad. He shut his eye sockets against the onslaught on his taste buds and chewed fast and hard. It didn't matter how many times he's done this. The taste always hit him like a punch to the jaw.

Oh, it was so, so bad.

_SANS! Look! I did it!_

He forced himself to swallow and gathered another forkful. A rather large patch of fuzz was stuck on top.

_Do you like it? Undyne said I was a natural! Well of course I am! ...But what do you think? Not that it matters, I know perfectly well how great I am! I was just curious to see if you could acknowledge the greatness that is my culinary skill!_

Sans quickly shoved it into his mouth before he could think twice about it.

_I'm going to do it! I'm going to join the Royal Guard! Then I'll be popular! Prestigious! Powerful! ...Sans are you listening?!_

Sans leaned his forehead against his fist, focusing on chewing.

_Oh my god, SANS! THIS IS THE MOST WONDERFUL THING YOU'VE EVER DONE! YES, IT'S FITTING, IS IT NOT?! A PERFECT BATTLE BODY FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS! NYEH HEH HEH! THANK YOU BROTHER!_

Sans covered his eye sockets with his hand. His fork trembled as he blindly dug into the spaghetti, piling more into his mouth. It was so bad... tears slid down his cheekbones.

 

_Come on, Lazybones! It's a beautiful day outside! Birds are singing! Flowers are blooming! Skeletons like you should be out recalibrating their puzzles! Come on, up you get!_

 

_...When I grow up, I want to be as great as you two! ...What? Really, Sans? You think so?! Wowie!_

 

_Sans, wait. ...No, I'm not scared of the dark! ...I just...Can you read me this story before you leave? Please? ...Thanks! You're the best!_

 

Sans managed to fill his mouth a fourth, a fifth and a sixth time, before he couldn't take it anymore, burying his face in his arms, clutching his skull.

_Sa...sa...san...sans. Sans, sans! hee hee!_

He swallowed and a single sob broke free, his entire body shaking. That's all it took. Like a dam breaking, a wave of overwhelming grief washed over him. Sweet, painful, horrible grief. He savored every second of it, every sob, gripping his arm through his sleeve, relishing in the pain.

"Papyrus...Papyrus, god, bro...why..."

He was racked with bone rattling sobs for long, agonizing minutes, before calming down enough to continue, even as he clung to his misery like a drowning man clung to a rock.

Sans raised his head, tears running down pupil-less eye sockets, and kept eating with trembling hands until the plate was clean.

It didn't taste so bad anymore, drowned out by his misery. He swallowed every bite and sat there, drained...and feeling a bit sick.

The silence of the house was no longer a comfort, no longer a familiarity. It was deafening. It was torture. As it should be.

Slowly, the emptiness returned, but it was edged with sadness. He'd take it. Better than nothing. Better than apathy. It wouldn't last, but at least it was something to savor in the moment.

This was his life. And there was no end in sight.

Sans didn't know how much longer he could keep doing this.

He didn't know when the day would come when he was going to run out of tricks. Run out of ways to keep alive, to keep feeling.

But at least he'll get to see Papyrus again. It'll reset, like it always did, and for the first hour or so, he'll have Papyrus to himself again.

It was a trap of course. It's thoughts like those that brought on the apathy to begin with. If he's going to come back, why be sad about it? Who cares, right? Just give up.

Give up.

Heh. If only he could.

Sans checked the clock on the wall.

Four more hours to go.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this idea for a while now -- what kind of funeral Sans would hold for Papyrus. Hope I pulled it off. 
> 
> Thanks again for any feedback. It means the world to me :)


	4. Life After Death

The Void. Despite its name, it was absolutely brimming with stuff. A lot of it was alive, too. However, nothing much happened. It was a horribly silent and lonely place. Perhaps it was because all that stuff, was just one stuff, one monster to be specific, split across space and time to be everywhere and nowhere all at once. W.D. Gaster often mused with himself in this way...with his "minions." More like puppets. It was fun to play. It was healthy. A break in the monotony of nothing and everything as one.

But then something interesting happened.

He had a visitor.

But this was no ordinary visitor either.

No, no, no. It wasn't the human to grace his presence this time. But rather...a familiar SOUL. One he hadn't seen in a very long time.

_**My, my, Papyrus. What brings me the pleasure of your company?** _

***

In a dark spot in Waterfall. In a blank spot in the Void. And somewhere in between...

Papyrus struggled to exist.

He had been reduced to particles of magic, flickering in and out of existence. One moment he was there, the next he was not, but never completely one way or the other. But soon, enough of him gathered in one dimension for his mind to form a conscious thought, for his body to form some semblance of shape, both fighting against the laws of this reality to just exist.

God it hurt. Oh sweet stars, it hurt.

It was like the fabric of the world clung to him, pierced him, shattered him, then let him go and he reformed only for the agonizing process to repeat. Over and over.

ENOUGH!

Papyrus fell to his hands and knees, panting imaginary air. He raised his head.

His neck was slashed. His body shattered. A burning pain spread like wildfire across his bones.

Then it went back before the attack. Like time rewinding and he was stable again...or as stable as he could hope to be, darkness pressing against him as if it were a real, suffocating thing.

God...

...Where was he? What was this? What was going on?

A presence watched him with some amusement. For him, it was interesting watching it from an outside perspective. Then again, this was different. His own first experience with the Void wasn't quite as...violent.

Papyrus felt him there, felt his thoughts. He looked over and saw the dark figure with the white face stare at him with empty, wide eyes. It felt...familiar.

The figure smiled.

Together in the Void, their minds had...meshed together and yet not?

Papyrus was so confused. Gaster was so amused.

Wait. Gaster? ...How did he know that name?

"...WHO...WHO ARE YOU?"

Gaster laughed, the deep distorted sound echoing everywhere. He spoke (or was that his thoughts?) and it was difficult to understand, as if spoken with a very heavy accent or perhaps a language Papyrus instinctively knew but didn't remember learning.

**_...Oh? Are you still choosing to forget? Careful, Papyrus. There's only so much a monster can take._ **

The figure...Gaster...leaned in closer, grinning impossibly wide, as if his face was cut in two.

**_...It looks like you won't be able to keep running away much longer._ **

Papyrus tried to stand, but it was extremely disorientating. Not only was it difficult to tell the floor from the walls and the ceiling, his body wouldn't stay together. His leg shattered into dust, then reformed right as he was falling, catching himself at the last minute before he fell into what seemed like utter nothingness.

"...I...I DON'T UNDERSTAND."

**_It's been a very long time._ **

"WHO ARE YOU?"

**_You know who I am._ **

"...I DO?"

No matter how hard he tried, his mind came up blank. But Papyrus couldn't possibly imagine forgetting such a terrifying monster. But there was something...strange about him. Something that wasn't frightening. Something...that was almost comforting about him. It was bizarre.

Then again, none of this made sense.

**_The information is still there...just like the information of your every death that lies within your very bones. I can see it. See it in your CODE. ...You're really a mess, Papyrus. I do not envy you._ **

That just made Papyrus even more confused. He fell back to his knees and wrapped his arms around what was left of himself, struggling to hold it together, to think through the pain.

"...I want to go home..."

**_Don't we all?_ **

Gaster chuckled darkly, his body disappearing into the Void, though Papyrus could still hear him loud and clear as if he was speaking from all directions, including within his own mind.

**_But we made our choices long ago, hadn't we? ...I gave in. Sans gave up. But you...you chose to forget. To ignore. It seems that choice has come with certain...consequences._ **

Papyrus' head shot up.

Sans.

Sans would know. He'd help. Plus, his brother must be worried sick. He had to get back.

Slowly, painfully, Papyrus got to his feet and looked around. Once he got the hang of keeping himself somewhat stable, he noticed that it wasn't just solid nothingness that surrounded him. There was a flickering mist, revealing another reality on the other side. Whether it was the Void that was flicking in and out of space, or himself, he didn't know or cared. Staring at it long enough, he picked out water banks and the soft glow of echo flowers.

Waterfall.

He took a step towards the mist.

The moment he tried walking, his entire being glitched out and he scattered to dust.

Then he was back on his hands and knees, gasping in pain. He stared at his hands. His red gloves edged in and out between being solid and being dust and a third state, much like pixels of light? Or magic?

What was this?

**_...You need to be more stable for that to work._ **

Gaster sounded very entertained by his effort.

Papyrus closed his hands into tight fists, willing them to hold together.

"...The Great Papyrus...can do...anything..."

He noticed that there was one part of him that hadn't shattered, not really. True, it seemed to fade out of existence for a moment when he turned to dust, but it was still intact, still whole. And it never fully disappeared. The one thing that kept bringing him back, gluing him together. His SOUL.

Papyrus put his entire focus on his soul and it glowed a pure white light. It took all his mental discipline to strengthen the glow, to use it to ground himself to reality. He shut his eyes tightly, envisioning the small heart, pulsing with life.

**_Fascinating. You never fail to amaze me. But be careful, my dearest Papyrus. If you're not, this little mishap may drive you insane. ...Take it...from...me._ **

Papyrus ignored him, refusing to be distracted. He focused solely on his SOUL, on the culmination of his very being.

And he willed it to take him home.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to be more consistent with these. I'm just being lazy at this point :p 
> 
> ...Hmmm, I wonder what's going on with Papyrus...


	5. The Last Hour

The human made it to the Last Corridor a lot sooner than usual. It gave Sans the impression that they rushed to get there, not bothering to make any friends, skipping as much dialogue as they could. He looked them over as he mechanically gave his usual spiel about LOVE.

He blinked.

That...didn't make any sense...

They...they didn't have any LVL or EXP. But that was impossible. Unless...

Sans inwardly sighed in resignation. It wasn't like he could do anything about it anyways. Though, despite how he really felt, it gave him a secret satisfaction to be able to completely hide the personal hell this human was putting him and the entire Underground through. He never wanted to give them the satisfaction.

Giving up really had its benefits.

As he automatically gave his judgment for god knows how many times in a row, he considered the being in front of him. There had been a time when he cared about them. It didn't even have to do with the whole "savior of the underground" scenario. He just knew that they weren't doing this out of hatred or even cruelty. They were just curious. Interested in this world and all it had to offer. And that was their downfall. That was why he had to put an end to it, no matter what the cost.

Sometimes, he considered the two other presences. The kid. And the...other...thing. It was dormant now. And honestly if he hadn't seen it a few resets ago and made notes about it, he wouldn't have ever known it was there. Even now it was barely perceptible. He still didn't know what it was, but he wasn't curious enough to want to get a closer look.

All he knew was that it was one of two potentials. Two vastly different outcomes. If the human only knew...heh. No. They already knew, didn't they? That's why they kept doing this. To see both through, right? ...That was one theory, anyway.

But that was neither here nor there.

 

*if you have some sort of special power...

*isn't it your responsibility to do the right thing?

 

Sans opened his eyes to watch the human as they answered and blinked.

The human...had a weird expression on their face. Their eyes were wide with surprise and there was an almost excited and eager little smile on their lips. It took him a moment to figure out why...then it hit him.

This was what he usually said when they killed Papyrus. So obviously, it was what he had said for the last hundred or so resets. But...they didn't have any LVL. They didn't have any EXP. And judging by their face, it looked like everyone they'd encountered had treated them as such, as if they hadn't hurt a soul, as if they had spared Papyrus...

...except him.

Sans felt a tremor in his soul. Suddenly, his grin wasn't so heavy, it almost turned into a smirk.

That's right, kid. He knew. And as long as he lived, he would always remind them the kind of garbage that they were.

The human seemed to smirk back.

 

>No.

 

Sans looked to the side and lied through his teeth... literally.

 

*heh. well that's your viewpoint. i won't judge you for it.

*...

 

Sans could still taste his brother's dusty spaghetti. He swallowed.

The lights in his eyes flickered out.

For once, he didn't have to fake it.

 

 

*Y o u  d i r t y  b r o t h e r  k i l l e r.

 

 

It was done.

He got out of there the moment the powers that be allowed him to and reappeared in his silent bedroom, trembling. And yet he savored every ounce of anger and hatred and sorrow that coursed through his bones. He could still feel. He could still feel, even after all this time, without some sort of self-inflicted physical torment. Thank god. He gripped his arms, pressing his thumb into the inside of his left arm bones until they hurt.

Just because he didn't need it, didn't mean it didn't help.

Sans closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and stood there until his trembling faded and he was numb again, sighing.

Now it was up to Asgore...and whatever came after.

He never was curious enough to discover what happened past that point. Once his part was done, it was done. Everything after the Last Corridor once the human passed through was beyond him.

It was pointless to think about it.

Sans kicked off his slippers and got into bed, curling into himself and closing his eyes.

As usual, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep, eager for darkness or perhaps a nice dream where he was at Grillby's with all his friends, past and present, where he got to drink all the ketchup he wanted and Grillby happily wiped his tab clean and he bought everyone burgers.

And Papyrus would burst in, his loud and boisterous voice shaking the walls, nagging him to pick up his sock.

Sans smiled for real as he slept, looking forward to hearing that voice again.

...Less than an hour left to go.

 

* * *

 


	6. A New Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lateness! But at least it's a larger than usual chapter, so hopefully that makes up for it. Thanks again to all those read and comment. They make my day :D
> 
> In other news, if I were to rename this fic, I would call it "Something Different". I kinda wish I had named it that. Ah well. ONWARD.

* * *

 

Grillby's was full as usual and Sans was sitting in his usual spot at the bar. His brother was sitting beside him, one of those rare occasions where the taller skeleton decided to keep him company. But something seemed off. He was hunched over, head bowed towards his drink.

"What's wrong, Paps?" Sans patted his brother's shoulder. "You seem bone-tired today."

Papyrus sighed heavily as he fingered the milkshake Sans had ordered for him. His brother didn't even bother to look annoyed at the pun.

"I'm never going to capture a human, am I? I'm never going to join the Royal Guard and no one will ever know how great I really am..."

The space between Sans' eye socket knitted together in confusion. It wasn't like Papyrus to be so hard on himself like this.

"What makes you say that?" he asked. "You seemed so excited about it yesterday."

Papyrus shrugged. "I don't know. I just have this feeling in my bones...one I can't shake off."

Sans felt the familiar shiver of déjà vu run up the back of his skull. He smiled for his brother, chuckling a bit.

"Oh well. If that's how you feel, I guess we can both do nothing together, right? We can even get you started on your own sock collection. How about it?"

That did it. Papyrus' face twitched and he slammed his hand down against the counter as he stood.

"WHAT ARE YOU SUGGESTING?! SOMEONE AS COOL AND GREAT AS ME WITH A SOCK COLLECTION?! PFFT! NO WAY! I JUST NEED TO WORK EVEN HARDER, THAT'S ALL! WHAT AM I EVEN DOING HERE, LAZYING ABOUT WITH YOU?!

Sans watched with muted amusement as Papyrus downed the shake with one long pull on his crazy straw and slammed the glass down with so much force, Sans was surprised it didn't break.

"COME, BROTHER!" Papyrus threw his red scarf over his shoulder, the bright fabric hovering in the air for a moment. "WE HAVE PUZZLES TO RECALIBRATE! MAYBE EVEN SET UP A NEW ONE OR TWO! WE CAN NEVER BE TOO PREPARED! LET'S GO!"

Sans watched him walk out Grillby's door, the other patrons watching him go by with startled glances. His brother threw open the revolving door so hard, it kept swinging and Sans could see him outside, standing tall and proud, facing west as he waited for Sans to catch up with him.

The sight of his brother so worked up used to give him so much joy. Nothing else — not even puns and bad pranks — could compare. But now...

Sans sighed and got to his feet. True, he lost any real enjoyment out of any of this for the most part but, still, it was easy to keep up. At least Papyrus was happy. Keeping his brother happy had been such an important part of his life, an ingrained habit that he just couldn't give up even when he lost all motivation for it. It just felt unnatural to do anything else.

As he stood there, a lone snowflake drifted gently down from above.

Sans stared as more followed in its wake. He looked up and instead of Grillby's low wooden ceiling, his gaze landed on empty space and a sheet of thick, fluffy white clouds high above him, covering up the distant ceiling of their small world.

A familiar, muffled laugh reached his nonexistent ears. Sans looked ahead again to find himself no longer standing in Grillby's warm interior, but instead standing outside Snowdin, in front of the large door not far from his sentry station.

"Oh that IS a good one! ...Okay, how about this?"

There came two knocks on the door.

It took him a moment to answer, a bit slack jawed until he finally played along.

"Who's there?"

"Ya."

"Ya who?"

"Yahoo! I'm excited to hear from you too!"

The former queen broke into a fit of giggles and regardless of what state of mind Sans was in, the genuineness of her laughter always made him smile...even if it was only for a moment.

"Good one," he said, quickly adjusting.

The trick was to just accept whatever was in front of you. It helped when you didn't care about anything anymore. Apathy definitely had its benefits. Though Sans did wonder what was that just now. Had it been a flashback, a memory, a daydream or an actual dream? It was getting harder to tell with each new reset. The more aware he became, the more he remembered, but it was so much to remember and be aware of that it became a big jangled mess. Ah well. At least one thing was certain. This was definitely a fresh reset. The clock was back to zero. That meant Papyrus would be at his sentry station just down the path and Sans had anywhere between thirty minutes and a full hour before the human showed up again...give or take.

"Anywho, I should get going," came Toriel's voice, bringing him out of his thoughts. "The flowers need watering."

"Yeah. I guess I should go too. I'm really looking forward to seeing Papyrus again. Must be that dream I had...or memory... or whatever." Sans wasn't sure when he started to, but one day he just began to talk to her candidly about everything. He was pretty sure she had no idea what he was saying half the time, but it was nice to be genuine for once, even if it was to someone he only met face to face in a fractured memory.

_"My brother...died today..."_

Sans blinked. What was that? It sounded like an echo. He glanced around, as if expecting to see a blue fluorescent flower at his feet. But the words had been in his mind...and in his own voice. Huh. That was weird.

There was an awkward pause from behind the door. "....are you okay?"

The edges of San's grin twitched. Okay. That was one too many odd things to happen in a row. Something was off.

"Yeah. Why you ask?"

There was another long pause and Sans got the impression that she was debating what to say next.

"....Nothing. Never mind... Say...say hello to your brother for me, okay?"

"...Sure." Well that was even weirder. He was officially suspicious. Perhaps he was still dreaming? That happened once. You really couldn't tell these days. "Thanks. I'll talk to you tomorrow," he said, knowing it was a lie, knowing full well that it would never be tomorrow.

Just today. Over and over again. It's been that way for god knows how long now.

Sans sighed and shrugged, stuffing his hands into his jacket's pockets. But what could he do? He turned on his heel and walked a few steps down the snowy, tree lined path before taking a shortcut. He was so eager to see Papyrus again, he didn't notice that the large, heavy branch on the path up ahead was already smashed to bits.

 

***

 

A month ago, Papyrus built his sentry booth. He made it all by himself and was very proud of the end result, even if it needed repairs every week since it kept falling over. He had loved the thing and was always at his station when he was supposed to be, just like a good Royal Guard should.

Not only that, but nothing ever changed in a reset. Everyone was always in their places, doing the exact same things, saying the exact same words. Even Sans sometimes caught himself in the middle of an action he had done a hundred times before, saying the same words to the same people, who they themselves replied with the same responses and made the same gestures, before he realized what he was doing.

Like well oiled cogs turning in a precise clock.

So when Papyrus wasn't at his station, or anywhere near it, Sans thought it a bit...strange. That seemed to be the theme for this reset, apparently. He wasn't alarmed. Not yet anyways, though he was pretty sure he had lost the capability of feeling alarmed a while ago. However, his soul still pulsed a little quicker at this blatant change in the script.

He looked over the cardboard box with its crooked sign, Papyrus enthusiastic handwriting scrawled across it, looking for some clue to this mystery. There was no note --sometimes, as one of the very few variants of same script, his brother would leave a note if he had to check on a puzzle or something, telling the potential human to please wait at the station till he returned so he could give them a proper introduction -- and there was no sign at all that Papyrus had even been there that morning. No footprints. No note. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Snow piled up on Sans' shoulders as he racked his memory. It took him a moment, but he faintly remembered something had been off with Papyrus during the last run. Perhaps Papyrus was remembering. It wasn't impossible. And with that knowledge and awareness came a certain level of freedom to act and say things that were new as long as the human wasn't anywhere nearby. It was how he was able to speak with the former queen and remember who she is. It was why he cherished their conversations.

Perhaps Papyrus had gained the same limited freedom and was enjoying it somewhere. Maybe even talking to that flower he would mention from time to time.

That flower...

It was probably best to find him quick. Especially if he did remember. That could be rather...difficult to deal with for the first time.

Sans walked over to the next station and on cue, Doggo popped up.

"Who's there? Who's moving?" The dog brandished his swords and Sans always thought he could be an actual threat if it weren't for his poor eyesight.

"Hey, Doggo." He waved his hand so the sentry could see him. "Do you know where Papyrus ran off to?"

Doggo narrowed his eyes even further at Sans and slowly slid down in his station until only his suspicious squinty gaze was visible. "Is this a joke? Not funny Sans."

That...was not the response he expected. Sans tilted his head in confusion, scratching his chin. Then again, this was all brand new. His soul even raced a bit at the thought. It wasn't often that he didn't know what was going to happen next. It was still up in the air whether he liked that or not.

He raised his hands in a shrug so Doggo could still make him out. "Heh, good cause I'm not trying to be. ...Seriously though, have you seen my brother anywhere?"

Doggo arched an eyebrow at him. "Um. ...No. Not since...yesterday."

Okay. Was it his imagination, or was Doggo looking at him strangely? Like there was some information Sans was missing, something he should obviously know....but didn't. It was an alien concept to him. He wasn't used to being the one who didn't know. He didn't like it.

"Riiight. I'll keep on looking then." He walked way, feeling Doggo's stare on his back until he rounded the corner.

Sans was beginning to feel a bit...unsettled. This was too strange, too different. While probably the most exciting reset he's experienced yet - though that wasn't saying much - he had a bad feeling about it all. Not knowing what was going to happen next was...unpleasant. Good to know.

Sans was no stranger to powerlessness. He fought it down moment to moment with apathy and disinterest. It was a bizarre balancing act. Find ways to feel at least some emotion, some semblance of being alive, and yet not enough for the hopelessness to drive him insane. It wasn't easy and lately it's been harder than usual, but he managed so far. Even so, for the first time in quite a handful of resets, he could feel the itching under the surface of his bones, that familiar feeling. That god awful realization...

...He had to find Papyrus.

He kept moving, but what he found further down the snowy road did nothing to comfort him. Sans gripped the insides of his pockets as he looked across Papyrus' electricity maze. For a second, his soul jumped, thinking he had finally found signs that Papyrus had been there today, probably setting it up. But no, the two sets of footprints spread across the maze, already half-covered with freshly fallen snow, were at least a day old. The scene...looked familiar.

 _SANS!!! WHAT DID YOU DO?!?!_  
_*i think the human has to hold the orb._  
_OH, OKAY._  
_...HOLD THIS PLEASE!_  
_OKAY, TRY NOW!_

Sans gripped the front of his shirt where his soul throbbed painfully. No, no. That didn't make any sense.

He took a shortcut this time, teleporting outside Grillby's and walking in, his soul pounding against his ribcage. Everyone turned their heads in his direction. It was emptier than usual since it was early and the dogs were at their stations. Regardless, Sans got the same eerie chill of déjà vu down the back of his skull as he walked to his seat at the bar, thinking he had just been there half an hour ago...or was that...oh who cares.

"...Hiya, Sansy~ ...you good?"  
"...Greetings, Sans."  
"Hey Sans, good to see you still come in here every ten minutes. That's a relief."

Why were they acting like he was upset...or should be upset? Sans waved and acknowledged their greetings as best he could, his grin wavering a bit in confusion. Maybe the toll of this weird reset was more obvious than he thought. But...was that it? Sure, he felt uneasy, but nothing on his face should have revealed anything. The way they were looking at him...it was as if...

As he sat down, Grillby leaned forward and when Sans looked into his face, something tightened around his soul, something he hadn't felt in so long that it took him a moment to recognize what it was.

Fear.

He grinned nervously. "Hey, Grilby, what's with the long face? ...You look like someone died."

No.

Grillby's flames flared up a bit in surprise, before cooling down, cackling softly...almost gently. Rosie, the monster who always sat beside him at the bar, stared at him in shock.

"Um...Grillbz says that isn't funny," she translated, worry in her voice. "...You okay, Sans? I mean I guess it's pretty hard...what with what happened yesterday. But we're all here for you. Grillbz says that too."

Sans sat frozen in place.

No.

That couldn't be right. It made no sense. How could that be?

"Oh. Sorry," he said, his grin in place despite it all. "...So. Someone did...die...yesterday."

Grillby's eyes lowered to the counter and everyone else seemed to look away. The atmosphere was unbearable.

"I need to go."

Sans left the restaurant as fast as he could without a shortcut, then teleported to the front of his house as soon as he was outside. He threw open the door, his soul in his throat.

"Papyrus, are you h-...here...."

Across the dark living room, his eyes caught the glint on the kitchen table. The light outside spilled through the window and bounced off the jar's golden lid. The jar itself sat beside it, just where he had left it, still covered in a thin layer of dust.

His brother's dust.

The next thing Sans knew, he was on the floor.

His knees must have given way as the unavoidable truth sunk in.

Papyrus was still dead.

They had gone forward in time. This was tomorrow. Not yesterday. This wasn't a reset.

It was the next day.

_What?!_

But he couldn't remember getting up in the morning. Or calling the human to give his usual spiel about what a piece of trash they were. No, of course he didn't. Cause that never happened. Toriel was still behind the door. Undyne wasn't Empress....was she? He couldn't remember anything after judging the human and going to bed. Did he forget? And if it wasn't a reset...did that mean the human was gone for good? Was this horrible nightmare over? Was the timeline finally safe?

But Papyrus was dead.

Dead forever.

A humorless chuckle escaped him, the sound dry and cracked like an old broken horn. He checked his feelings, raising an oddly steady hand to his sternum right above his trembling soul. He was in shock. But...he still felt numb. Like none of it mattered. This probably wasn't even real anyway...or was it? He didn't know how to feel. His soul stilled as the shock faded. He slowly got to his feet and walked over to the couch, sitting down gingerly.

Sans didn't know how long he sat there. It felt like hours, but judging by the clock on the wall only a few minutes had passed. He didn't know what to do with himself. So long...he's been playing this game with the human for so long. Was it really over? Just like that?

...Now what? And what happened? What happened to Papyrus?

He covered his mouth with a hand, suddenly feeling sick. Somehow, in a strange bizarre twist, he was able to tolerate the whole funeral with the old spaghetti simply because he knew that his brother would return and it would be like it never happened. ...But now.

Oh god, he really did eat his brother.

His nonexistent stomach churned at the thought and his grin twitched. It felt like his sanity was about to shatter into a million pieces.

**_SANS!_ **

A sharp chill shot up Sans' spine like a knife and his left eye flared to life. He gasped sharply, arching his back and clutching his eye. Between his fingers, the very makeup of their reality, a stream of numbers and probabilities, flickered faintly in front of him for a fraction of a moment before it vanished again.

Sans struggled to breathe, trembling even after the sensation faded and his eye went dark. It wasn't the first time he had experienced this. Actually, it only happened once before. But that one time was enough for him to recognize exactly what it was...and hate it with all his being.

Something in the timeline had changed, and it was something outside the natural script. A glitch. And a big one to boot.

For a brief second, Sans considered resting his head down on the couch and taking a nap. It was so tempting. This was all...just too much.

But that wasn't going to solve anything.

And he could have sworn he heard his voice.

"...Alright. Let's get this over with."


	7. Reunited...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Added a tag. Juuuuuusssst in case.

* * *

 

The source of the disturbance was easily found, the area pulsing with an unfamiliar energy signature only he could detect. Sans teleported to the location instantly, confused and somewhat intrigued when he found himself in a familiar cave that held a single locked door.

The other door. The hidden door. The door he guarded in secret since only he knew what was on the other side. Or at least a theory. Sans walked up between the two softly glowing mushrooms and rested his hand just below the Delta Rune inscribed on its surface.

"Heh. Okay. What do you have in store for me this time?"

God, he hoped HE had nothing to do with this. Luckily, that was highly doubtful. HIS direct interference was always light and barely perceptible. A true troll. No, wait. There was another more obvious culprit.

"Gaster, I swear if this is your doing..." Sans muttered to himself, glancing around as he stuffed his hand back into his pocket.

Even if that was the more likely scenario, it still would have been a miracle. There really wasn't much Gaster could do in his current state that could affect the timeline in such a drastic way.

...But if he broke something in an attempt to escape the Void...then damnit it all to hell. The more he thought about it, the more likely it felt. What else could it have been?

_**S..Sans...** _

Sans spun around, his eye burning in its socket.

In the dim light, he thought he saw...something. Like a ghost, but not. Barely there, shimmering like light.

_**...I...WILL NOT...FAIL...** _

Sans jumped back as his brother materialized in front of him. Papyrus was on all fours, clutching the dark grass under his gloved fingers as his body glitched in and out of existence.

Sans barely understood what he was seeing. "....Bro?"

He knelt in front of him, hands hovering over his brother's body, not sure if he should touch him...not even sure if he could. He didn't appear solid.

Papyrus looked like a hologram and a bad one at that, flickering on and off like in that one human movie he'd seen where an android projected a tiny, shaky image of a captured princess. But much larger and more real.

"Bro. Papyrus... Is that really you?"

"H-HEH...OF C-COURSE...IT'S ME. I...I, T-HE GR-G-GREAT P-PAPY-PYRUS...AM...V-VICTORIOUS ONCE AGAIN!!"

Papyrus raised his head and Sans couldn't help but jump a little. His face. He reached out but, again, didn't dare touch him. "What happened, bro? How... How did you end up like this?"

His brother's expression was impossible to read. Half his face looked like nothing was wrong. The other half looked like it was flaking off into tiny, solid pieces of light and magic.

It reminded him of Gaster's face, but less goopy and more flaky.

"I...WAS H-HOPING... YOU COULD H-HELP ME... F-F-FIGURE THAT O-OUT... BR-BROTHER..." Papyrus attempted a smile, or at least that was Sans' best guess, his brother's face distorting grotesquely.

Every word his brother spoke sounded as if it took a great amount of effort to make. Papyrus kept wincing, which distorted his expression even more, the sides of his face switching places for a few seconds before switching back, and then sometimes seemed to flicker off entirely for one horrifying moment. Sans forced himself to keep eye contact...when his brother actually had eyes to make contact with.

"You... You gotta throw me a bone here, bro," he said, hands shaking. He could feel a line of sweat sliding down the side of his skull. "What was the last thing you remember? And how did you get here?"

Papyrus' eyes, just flickering dots of light in dark holes much too large for his elongated face, moved up and to the side, an obvious tell that he was trying to remember. But he immediately cringed, curling into himself as he groaned in pain. Shit. Did it hurt just to access his own memory?

"T-THE... HUMAN...I..I WAS FI...FIGHTING THE HUMAN," Papyrus wrenched out, determined as always. "SOMETHING..... U-UGH... S-SOMETHING S-STRANGGGEE.. H-HA-HAPPENED.... S-SSS-SANS... IT HURTS."

Sans was at a loss. He wanted to tell him to stop, hoping that would alleviate his pain. But he needed to know what happened in order to figure out how to help him. There has got to be a reason why recalling this information was hurting him. It was as if...

Something clicked in his mind. Taking a deep breath and steadying his hand, Sans reached out and grabbed his brother's shoulder. He gasped out sharply. It was like touching an electric current. Pain shot up his arm and the limb vibrated so hard, it felt like it would shattered at any moment.

Papyrus' eyes went disturbingly wide. "B-B-BROTHER...WH—" The word was cut off, gurgling into a distorted noise like that of an old dial up modem making a crappy connection. His brother's body distorted with his voice, breaking into waves of colored light. Like a damn cartoon.

Then it was over. Papyrus was solid again, like none of it ever happened. Like the horror Sans just witnessed was a momentary flashback of some old nightmare. His brother blinked and smiled gratefully, sighing with relief.

"Thank you. That feels so much better."

Sans jerked his head in a nod, digging his fingers into Papyrus' shoulder. He knew it wasn't going to last, but he had no time to waste explaining. If his theory was correct, then his brother's CODE would figure out soon enough that Papyrus and himself were not the same object.

"Tell me what happened! Quick!"

It seemed much easier for Papyrus this time now that the pain was gone, speaking much more clearly. "I...I fought with the human, but...it went all wrong. It felt like...it felt like I had done it all before. So I tried to stop...but...I couldn't. Brother, I couldn't stop myself! So...I tried really, really hard and...I stopped...but..."

He looked up at him, distress all over his features. "Why? What was that? And...why did it hurt so much?"

Sans wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't believe this. "Papyrus. Why...why didn't you stop struggling when it hurt? Why didn't you just go with it?"

Papyrus looked like he was about to cry, trembling as he hugged himself. "...The human was going to...was going to kill me. I...I didn't want that. I wanted it to stop."

They were running out of time. "What happened after that?"

"You didn't answer my question, Sans!"

"There's no time! Tell me! What happened!"

Papyrus winced, turning his face away. Sans never yelled, period. And especially not at him. But damnit, this was important!

"...I...I..." His brother's trembling worsened. Sans dug his fingers harder into his shoulder. "...I...I died. I turned to dust. It hurt so much. And then...I...appeared somewhere...or nowhere. It was very upsetting."

"Where?" Sans demanded. "The Void?"

Papyrus suddenly raised his head, eyes wide. "Brother...who's Gaster?"

Sans inhaled sharply. No, not again. He tried to clear his thoughts and ask for more information, but that was all the time they had. His brother began losing stability again and, this time, Sans' hand was joining him, melding into his sleeve.

"Shit." He wrenched his hand away, stumbling backwards onto his feet from the momentum. He watched as his brother gasped and struggled. His neck was sliced again by an invisible knife and he turned to dust right before Sans' eyes.

All was silent for a moment, the dark gray mound sitting quietly in the grass. Sans stared at it, his head throbbing. It had been a while since he had watched his brother die in person. His soul quivered.

But he barely could process what had happened when the scene rewound on itself like an old VHS tape. Papyrus was back on his knees, body fully formed, though still with that glitchy consistency. It had to be agony.

"Bro...are you okay?" It was probably the stupidest question Sans has ever asked in his life.

Silent tears ran down the edges of Papyrus' empty eyes. He looked to Sans, taking shallow breaths. "...make it stop."

Too quiet. Too tremulous. Papyrus should never, ever sound like that.

"Okay. Okay, we're going to figure this..."Sans stopped mid sentence as he felt a tug on his SOUL. They had run out of time in more ways than one. "Papyrus, stay here! Try your best to stay in this place, in this plane of reality, you got it?! Don't go back to the Void, whatever you do!"

Papyrus looked at him, looking so damn confused. It was heart breaking. "Are you...are you leaving?"

"I have to. I can't...I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise!"

Sans helplessly watched his brother stare at him with a look like that of a puppy who'd just been kicked by its most cherished friend. The image faded and he was taken away by force, yanked across space and time by an invisible hand.

Sans didn't know what to expect next. But he knew one thing for sure.

He really wasn't looking forward to it.

 

***

 

The human. Damn this motherfucking...

* Human.

Boy, was he glad he was a skeleton and already naturally predisposed to smiling. Because as the whoopee cushion went off, nothing, absolutely nothing, about this scene amused him.

Perhaps the human agreed. They looked stone faced bored as usual.

* heh. the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick...  
* wait a sec...  
* have you heard it before or something?  
* you turned around before I said to...  
* ...weird.  
* ...whatever.  
* you're a human, right?

God, he wished someone would just put a bullet through his skull. He continued the same old spiel, inwardly itching to get back to Papyrus. If he returned and his brother was gone, there wouldn't be any way of knowing where he went or how to get back in contact with him. Unless...

Damn it all to hell. Just when he thought he put the past behind him.

* now my brother, papyrus...

Sans stopped cold. Wait a minute. How...how could this continue the same way if...? But he didn't know what else to say, so from habit alone he continued.

* ...he's a human-hunting FANATIC.  
* hey, actually I think...

He stood there at a complete loss.

There was no Papyrus over there. That part of the script no longer worked. He had gotten so used to the resets, to the same scenario, over and over, that he didn't realize till this moment how much this no longer made any sense.

It was strange. His soul felt free and light. For the first time in a very, very long time, he could say whatever he wanted. Do whatever he wanted. The human stood there with a puzzled expression, but there was a bit of excitement behind their eyes. After all, this was the first time Sans ever hesitated like this in this scene.

"...I...I think."

Fuck it.

"...Hey, kid. Why don't you just go on ahead? There's nothing stopping you. I'm...not feeling it today."

The human blinked at him and stayed there for a bit, trying to poke more dialogue out of him.

* ...

They grinned widely before running off, probably eager to see what else was new.

Sans stood there, watching their back....

He was barely conscious of what he was doing, his arm shooting up into the air as if on its own. The Gaster Blaster appeared above his head, its jaws training on the human's retreating back. His eye burned in its socket, his soul pounding with the desire to end this.

End it now.

 

_"Brother, that won't work. And it's not right. ...There's another way."_

 

_"...please promise me something? Watch over them, and protect them, will you not?"_

 

Sans' hand shook and he grit his teeth, struggling with the blaster that was ready to go, its power barely contained between its jaws. The human was almost out of sight...

Sans brought his hand down with a heavy sigh. The blaster shattered into particles of magic, the attack fading.

No.

Keep to the plan.

Keep to the...the stupid, pointless plan...

"Brother?"

Sans spun around, his soul jumping to his throat. Papyrus stood there, still flickering in an out of existence, eyes soft with compassion and pain, the latter probably from keeping his body together.

"Bro? You followed me? You...you can do that?"

Papyrus walked over. It seemed to take more effort than he was letting on, but he also seemed to be getting better at it. "W-Was...was t-that the human just now?"

Sans nodded. "It's...it's complicated. There's a lot you don't know."

Papyrus sat cross legged in snow, his shoulders twitching now and again, but his face was less distorted now. Keeping it that way seemed to be taking a lot of his concentration. "...Tell me. P-Please."

What else could he do? Besides. It wasn't like there was anywhere else he needed to be anymore. Sans sighed deeply, copying Papyrus as he sat down in front of him.

"...Fine. I'll tell you everything."

Well, almost everything.

 

***

 

Papyrus would have been very proud of himself...if he wasn't in excruciating pain from the sheer effort of simply keeping himself together. He wasn't sure how he managed to get back to Snowdin...if this was Snowdin. It was difficult to make anything out. The world shimmered like see-through fabric, lines of lights and numbers streaming in between. He didn't understand any of it. The only thing he was very clear on was that his brother, Sans, was right in front of him. That was enough.

His brother didn't look the same either, or maybe he never saw him this clearly before. Sans looked...tired. That wasn't new, but...it just seemed different this time. It seemed more...serious.

Jolts of pain shot up his spine every now and again, which made his body jerk and twitch. Papyrus did his best to contain the movement, not wanting Sans to worry. He wanted his brother to focus on his explanation, so Papyrus had something to focus on that wasn't the agony spreading across his bones.

Resets? Save Points? Multiple timelines?

It was all so very confusing. Sans used simple terms, pausing every now and then so he could process the information. It was obvious that he was doing his best to make it as easy as possible. Honestly, it wasn't that hard. Some of it actually felt...familiar in a way. Still it was...it was just...too absurd to believe.

"You're telling me...you've been reliving the same six hours..."

"We have been, bro," Sans corrected. "Everyone has been. I just...remember. You don't. No one else does."

"I see... Why just you?" Papyrus asked, a nasty spasm rippling through his face for a second. He did his best to suppress it. "W-Why are you special?"

Sans looked to the side and Papyrus knew he wasn't going to get a real answer. "It's..."

"Complicated, I know. You said that before," Papyrus interrupted, twitching, losing his patience. He'd have thought Sans would have taken this more seriously, given the circumstances. It irritated him that his brother still kept secrets. Still, he let it go. For now, at least. "I-It's fine. You don't...h-have to tell me. This is...all....very overwhelming, brother."

"I know."

"But then...what happened to me?"

Sans stared at his hands. "...You started to remember."

"How?" Papyrus asked. "Why now?"

Sans took a deep breath and raised his head, looking him in the eye. "I think it's because you've lived out that moment too many times. It's...accumulated, somehow, in your memory. The info started to leak out. That's my theory, anyway."

"B-But what happened when I tried to stop myself?" God it had been terrifying. Never in his life had he ever lost such control over his very being. It was one thing to not have control over his body, like while under the effects of Blue or Green magic, it was another that he couldn't even stop what he was saying and even to an extent...what he was feeling. Like his SOUL wasn't his own.

Sans shook his head, looking exhausted. "I haven't got a clue, Paps. Something...broke."

Papyrus stared hard at his brother, narrowing his eyes, trying to edge out the insanity that was going on around the edges of his vision and just FOCUS on him. "T-T-There's more to this ...t-than you're telling me." He sighed heavily, frustrated and not for the first time at his brother's laid-back attitude. "You never tell me anything..."

Sans glanced to the side, his grin twitching at the edges, as if this were all just one big joke. But Papyrus could see right through him, almost quite literally. His brother...

"FINE!" Papyrus got unsteadily to his feet and Sans got up with him. There wasn't exactly concern on his face. Actually, there hadn't been much of anything on his brother's face since he found him. But that had been something he'd been noticing even before this bizarre day. It wasn't something he needed to worry about right now. He had much more pressing matters at hand. "IT ALL STARTED WITH THE HUMAN, RIGHT? SO I'LL GET MY ANSWERS FROM THEM."

His brother's eyes widened and he raised his hands as if to block his way. "What?! Wait, bro! Are you serious?! You're in no condition.... and they're the ones responsible!"

"EXACTLY!" Papyrus stepped forward--and ended up walking through San's outstretched arms and three paces down the road. Pain rippled up through his bones from the movement, but it wasn't anything new.

Well...going through solid objects...that was kind of unexpected.

He glanced back at his brother who was staring at him, speechless.

"I'LL BE BACK, BROTHER! JUST WAIT FOR ME AT THE HOUSE! I'LL GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS, I SWEAR IT!"

_I am the GREAT Papyrus. I can do ANYTHING. I SUCCEED at EVERYTHING. This will NOT beat ME._

Papyrus looked ahead again, Snowdin Forest stretched out before him in streams of melting light and numbers. But across the territory ahead, he could see it. A path. The human's path, like a glowing ribbon of light across the ground. Without knowing how he knew, Papyrus touched it and found himself able to appear at any location where the human was in an instant.

This would be very helpful.

 

***

 

Sans stared dumbfounded as Papyrus...sort of, well...glitched out of reality? That's what it looked like. His brother's body broke apart into bits of magic and then blinked off like a giant LED light. He had a feeling that Papyrus had done it intentionally too. So...it could have been a strange form of teleportation? ...Okay.

He took one step forward with the intention of going after him. After all, that's what he usually did, right? Follow the human? And who knew what else could happen? Papyrus apparently had new powers now and knowledge he didn't even understand. It was dangerous. He needed to do something.

Sans took two more steps.

Then stopped.

No.

No, screw this.

Screw all of this.

God, he was exhausted. This was all way too much. Sans buried his hands into his pockets, lowering his head.

Papyrus seemed to have adjusted really quickly to his new condition. Hell, he even managed to pull himself together and talk like his usual self. He was clearly still in pain, but his bro can handle it. Papyrus can handle anything it seemed. Almost. Maybe.

Whatever.

Sans sighed and scrubbed his face with the edge of his palm. This could all be a dream for all he knew. Or a crazy hallucination, brought on by too much stress. That was actually a very possible explanation for all this.

So screw it.

Without wasting another second, Sans teleported directly into his bed and shut his eyes.

He'll deal with it tomorrow.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Orginally these were supposed to be two separate chapters. But it felt better as one.
> 
> Goodbye short chapters. I already miss you XD


	8. Follow The Human

* * *

 

 

It didn't take very long before Papyrus realized there were...limitations to this new way of travel. One moment he was pulled across space and time, his vision filled with brilliant light and magic; the next he was yanked violently in the opposite direction at neck-break speed before all movement stopped altogether.

It hurt.

The world came together like raining bits of magic. For a moment, his body was nowhere to be seen or felt. It was only in his awareness did he feel himself there, present, alive. It took a moment to gather the pieces of his form together again, focusing his soul to manifest himself like before. After what felt like hours, but couldn't have been more than sixty seconds, Papyrus found himself whole once again...or as whole as he could possibly be in his current situation. It was painful to look at himself, so he tried not to, instead focusing on figuring out where he was now.

He was standing on top of a cliff, facing the deeper, darker caverns of Waterfall. The light shone brilliantly against his back, casting heavy shadows across the ground. Down below he could see tall sea-grass that often grew in Waterfall where monsters often loved to go bug hunting. The human was nowhere in sight, but another familiar face was...

"UNDYNE!"

The Captain of the Royal Guard stood stoically a few feet from him, facing the darkness of the endless cavern in front of her, her back to the cliff's edge. The light bounced off one side of her helmet and royal guard armor, the other side hidden in darkness. Gosh, she looked so cool.

"UNDYNE!" He tried to close the distance between them, concentrating fully on each step so he didn't accidentally phase right through her like he did Sans. "IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU! I AM HAVING THE MOST TERRIBLE DAY! MAYBE YOU CAN HELP ME?"

He stood right next to her, but she hadn't moved an inch or acknowledged his presence at all. Well, that was rude.

"UNDYNE? HEY! DON'T IGNORE ME! HEY!" Papyrus waved his hand in front of her eyes, but it was clear that she simply could not hear or see him. His fingers brushed her shoulder. "HEY, UND--!"

Everything stuttered...violently.

Papyrus gasped as pain ripped through him, his body shattering to particles then rearranging and reappearing back at the start of the cavern. His eye sockets watered as he looked ahead, his vision swimming.

He could hear echoes.

_H...HI, UNDYNE! I'M HERE WITH MY DAILY REPORT..._

What...what was this?

_UHH...REGARDING THAT HUMAN I CALLED YOU ABOUT EARLIER..._

That was his voice. But...he didn't remember saying these things...or did he?

In front of him, another Undyne, a ghost-like copy, appeared on top of the first and turned to face him. A shadow of an emotion, of anxiety, surged through his soul.

_...HUH? DID I FIGHT THEM?_

His entire body vibrated painfully as if his bones were trying to divide and fly off in all directions. He curled in on himself. Something was tugging at him, an invisible force wanting him to move in a certain way. Papyrus fought against it, forcing his soul to obey HIS will, not THEIRS.

_Y-YES! OF COURSE I DI D! I FOUGHT THEM VALIANTLY! ...WHAT? DID I CAPTURE THEM...?_

Papyrus raised his tear streaked face. In front of him, both Undynes were staring into the darkness again, the ghostly image overlapping the corporeal one.

_W-W-WELL..._

He felt a surge of disappointment and regret. What was this? Why was he feeling this way? Who...or what...was doing this?

_I TRIED VERY HARD, UNDYNE, BUT IN THE END..._

Papyrus couldn't help but notice how disturbingly true those words were. For some reason, he knew that voice wasn't referring to the fight he actually had with the human.

No, cause he never survived _that_ fight, now had he?

Right now he was trying his hardest once again to stop this...this madness. It was like fighting with the human all over again. He clutched at his face, his fingertips pushing inside as if his skull was made out of loose pebbles.

_I FAILED._

Not an option. He couldn't fail. He couldn't.

_But then again, he never intended to win. That was all part of the plan._

Papyrus's eyes shot wide open as he raised his face again. What...?

"W-WHAT?"

_...W-WHAT ?_

The echoes continued against his will.

_YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE THE HUMAN'S SOUL YOURSELF..._

_No, that won't work._

Papyrus took a step towards Undyne, this time allowing the unseen force guide him.

BUT UNDYNE, YOU DON'T H-HAVE TO DESTROY THEM! YOU SEE... YOU SEE...

The ghostly clone of Undyne turned and faced him and his soul skipped a beat. He didn't even need to fight the urge to take a step back, stumbling backward either way. Could she see him? The solid, present Undyne was still standing stock still, waiting for something...

_..._

_It's a memory. A lost memory of another lifetime. A single piece of the puzzle from another time and place. Long ago, in the beginning, when things were hopeful and bright._

_...I UNDERSTAND. I'LL HELP YOU IN ANY WAY I CAN._

Papyrus felt that pushing sensation again, the mysterious force obviously wanting him to go back the way he entered. He grit his teeth and planted what remained of his feet. He wasn't moving. That last thought he just had. What...what was that? Another timeline? Is this what Sans had been referring to?

The world stuttered again, everything tearing apart before reassembling violently around him. A wave of nausea hit him hard and he fell to his knees. God, this was...difficult.

He glanced up and saw the singular Undyne, still staring into the pitch darkness, still waiting.

Papyrus was so confused. He pushed himself back to his feet, determined to do...to do something, when Undyne finally moved. She spun around as the grass down below rustled loudly. She approached the cliff's edge cautiously, her dark shadow moving with her. A cyan spear materialized in her hand as she scanned the reeds from above. Even with the helmet, Papyrus could see the murderous glint in her eye, her soul radiating ill-intent.

Everything was silent and unmoving for an unbearable moment, even Papyrus remained as still as his twitchy body allowed him to be. Undyne let the spear disappear in a flash of light and slowly stepped away from the edge. The darkness enveloped her, hiding her from view and then she was gone.

Alarm gripped Papyrus' soul and he half stepped, half jerked forward, ready to follow her, when more movement down below caught his eye. He stopped and turned just in time to see the human emerge from the grass, followed shortly by a monster child, who Papyrus recognized as a citizen of Snowdin.

Now he was really torn...quite literally too. He had turned so abruptly that his new body twisted and split vertically in half. One side spun like a corkscrew one way, facing where Undyne went, the other flopped over like wet paper over the cliff's edge, staring down at the human. He shuddered at the sensation and tried to put the pieces of himself back together, spinning like a top and probably looking ridiculous. Reforming, Papyrus lost his balance and fell hard on his rear. He sat there for a moment, dizzy and still nauseous from earlier, shaking. _Come on. Pull it together._

The human was gone, but Papyrus could still see the glowing path of light that trailed behind them, shimmering brightly under the actual ground, much like the ghostly image of Undyne he had seen earlier, but much brighter, sparkling like diamonds. He scrambled back to his feet for the third time in a span of minutes and was about to make the decision to follow the human when a loud ringing startled him.

It was his cell's ringtone. He quickly reached for his pockets, but...he quickly realized they were no longer accessible. His clothes and all their contents had fused with his constantly shifting body. So then...where was the ringing coming from?!

"NYAH! WHY DOESN'T ANYTHING MAKE ANY SENSE ANYMORE?!"

The ringing stopped, going to his voicemail and he could faintly hear his own recorded voice. He turned around -- carefully -- and noticed Undyne hadn't fully left. He could faintly make out her silhouette in the darkness. She had taken off her helmet and had her phone pressed against her ear.

Papyrus walked over to the captain, noticing the deep grimace on her face, her sharp teeth glinting in the dark. "Come on, Paps. Why don't you answer?"

Papyrus watched as she hung up and stood there for a moment. Realization and anger suddenly rippled across her face.

"Damnit, Undyne! You already know he's gone... Ugh. Get. A. Grip." She slid her helmet back on, hiding her expression from view but Papyrus could see the pure hatred in her one eye. "We got a human to kill."

"UNDYNE... UNDYNE I'M RIGHT HERE!" He reached out, but stopped himself before touching her again. Undyne didn't even slow down, disappearing further down the large cavern. No, that won't work. And besides, it wouldn't change anything. She couldn't help him, and he couldn't help her.

It was the human who had the answers. The human who could fix this. Somehow...

 

***

 

Waterfall felt like a brand new place, like some alien world from one of Alphys’ cartoons that Undyne constantly talked about. He took his time navigating this shimmery, yet still dark, place. He didn't want a repeat of earlier. Papyrus wasn't even sure what had caused that...that hallucination, and didn't want to know, frankly. They were just distractions. He needed to focus. Although, he had no clue what he was going to do once he did confront the human. Would they even be able to see him, or would he just be invisible to them as well?

It didn't help that some areas looked like they was melting. Not the normal kind of melting either. Spots on the walls and ceiling were peeling away to reveal a hidden layer that was made of no material he was familiar with. It didn't look solid at all. Just brilliant light and shimmering magic. If he stared long enough, he could make out constantly shifting symbols or numbers, changing too fast to identify. A part of him was fascinated by the display. It was like a very complex puzzle and if his mission hadn't been so dire, he would have stopped and tried to make sense of it all, like some secret code he could break. It was funny though. Papyrus never knew he liked puzzles like these before, or at least this much. Whatever. More distractions.

Along the way, he passed Woshua and Aaron, but neither of them greeted him or acknowledged him whatsoever. It was quite upsetting, really. Why couldn't they see him? Sans had heard and seen him plainly. It just didn't make any sense and trying to figure it out was giving him a headache. On top of the already stabbing sensation that ran up his bones with every step he took, he really didn't care much for it.

Once he left Onionsan's room, who didn't appear at all, Papyrus was overcome with relief when he finally spotted the human again. They were making their way through a wide corridor close to where Shyren lived. He was about to finally confront them when a familiar voice sliced through the silence.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Papyrus spun around, his soul soaring as he realized the words were directed at him. A few feet away was his very best friend, Flowey. The golden flower had a rather peculiar expression on his face. A strange mix of confusion, disbelief...and maybe a touch of unease. Well, that was understandable. Papyrus would probably have felt the same way if he had seen himself for the first time too.

"FLOWEY! OH MY GOODNESS! IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU AND SO GOOD THAT YOU CAN SEE ME! I CAN JUST SING!"

Flowey tilted his head to the side and Papyrus ignored the fact that he looked vaguely ill. He rushed over to him, kneeling down. The human was still in the room, somehow encountering Shyren despite her excellent hiding spot in a corner, so he felt he had some time to sit and talk. It felt so good to be seen again!

"What...what are you?" Flowey finally asked, sounding dumbfounded.

"WHY, IT'S ME, FLOWEY! THE GREAT PAPYRUS! I JUST...HAD A BIT OF AN ACCIDENT. ...NOT QUITE SURE WHAT HAPPENED, BUT... IT'S OKAY! I'M WORKING TOWARDS FIXING MY CURRENT SITUATION IN NO TIME!"

The flower stared at him. "It...it was reset. They reset. ...But everyone thinks you're still dead. So how are you here? ...And why do you...look like that?"

Papyrus shrugged, ignoring the look of unmasked revulsion on his friend's face. "I DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS MYSELF. I...I FOUGHT THE HUMAN AND..."

Flowey cut in sharply, "You remember?!"

Papyrus stammered to a halt, staring at his best friend as if seeing him for the first time. It was the way he said it, like how Sans had said it, like...like he shouldn't have remembered. But Sans had. ...And so did Flowey?

"...Yes. Yes, I remember. ...Flowey, you know about the resets too?"

His most favorite flower in the whole Underground burst into laughter, his face breaking into a terrifying grin. "Do I know about the resets?! HAH! Oh wow, this changes everything. Now you know too...and look at you. Are you even still part of this world anymore? Or have you gone the way of that old fart Gaster?"

Papyrus blinked at the name. "Flowey...you know Gaster too?"

His headache got worse.

Flowey went quiet, looking thoughtful. Papyrus could see the cogs working behind those tiny black eyes. It was the same look Sans gave him, wondering what to say and what not to say, but much colder and...surprisingly, even more tired.

"Kinda," the flower settled with. "I know of him. But what about you. What do you know?"

Papyrus turned to check on the human, make sure they were still in the room. As he watched, a strange ripple traveled across his vision and the human seemed to...twitch...as well as Shyren, their movements and voice stuttering.

He sat up straighter. "Flowey...did you see that?"

His best friend chuckled darkly and echoed him. "Did you see that?"

Papyrus turned to him again and frowned at the cold smirk he was giving him. This wasn't funny. "Flowey...what is it?"

He'd never seen him like this before. The once energetic and happy flower appeared...

The only word Papyrus could describe it was...bored.

"I guess the fun is over. My favorite toy is all broken and knows better now. Then again, I guess the fun ran out a long time ago...." Flowey sighed heavily, his golden petals wilting towards the ground.

"Flowey...don't say that. I--"

Papyrus had reached out to touch him, to comfort him in some way, but the moment his fingers brushed his petals, a bombardment of sound, words, images, sensation, pain, and a whole spectrum of emotions, crashed into him.

Gasping out, his eye sockets widened as memories flowed hard and fast across them, almost too fast to register. He scrambled backwards, as if trying to get away from them.

The familiar image of a smirking, smiling, happy, terrifying flower connected them all. The joy was overwhelmed by the sadness and the terror and the pain and the deaths. Oh, the deaths! How many times had he died by those vines? He could feel them wrapped around his bones, pushing into the smallest of holes, tightening and twisting. One particular horrific nightmare flared bright and hot above of them all, taking hold of him. Green, leafy vines wrapped around his arm tightly as he struggled, scratched and sobbed. _“No, please, no, no, noooo-”_

_“Stop saying that word to me, Papyrus. ”_

An indescribable pain ripped through him as the vines wrenched his arm, a crack spiraling down the bone's length under Flowey's grip.

Oh god. IT HURT.

Then it was gone as quickly as it came, the memories fading as if blown away by a powerful gust of wind. He was on his back, cradling his arm to his chest. It took him a moment to realize where he was, that he was okay, that his arm wasn't broken...or at least not in that way. Looking down at it, he could still see it dusting and reforming, like the rest of him, each cycle shooting pain through his bones. But the intensity wasn't even close to what he experienced in that...that...memory?

He stared at Flowey, eyes wide. Did that really...happen?

Flowey stared back, the boredom gone from his eyes. Slowly, a gleeful smile spread across his face. "Did you...just remember something?" His eyes flicked to his still cradled arm and recognition lit up his features. "Oh, I see. Funny how you remember that run out of all the others. It was one of my favorites."

Papyrus couldn't speak, so he didn't.

Flowey laughed mirthlessly again. "Yes. The game really is over, huh? Ah well. Everything comes to end....except for the resets. Those will never end, will they? They'll never be satisfied."

Papyrus followed the flower's gaze to the human, who was still engaged with Shyren.

"I supposed it's...karma, or whatever your garbage brother calls it, for my sins." Flowey sighed and seemed to come to a decision. "I used to have their power, the power to reset, to reshape this world as I saw fit. And I had so much fun with it. But...then I lost it when they appeared. It was still fun at first. A new toy to play with! One strong enough to get me the human souls."

Papyrus glanced at Flowey and found he could no longer recognize him. Who was this creature he had shared countless hours with, who he had thought was his friend? Were they still friends? Maybe...if he could forget. But Papyrus had a feeling that wasn't going to happen. Not anymore.

"The human souls?"

Flowey grinned, flashing his sharp teeth. "I got them so many times. But each time...they stopped me. ...And then they reset. Over and over again. I don't know why. You'd think they'd get bored. You'd think they'd have something better to do after a while. But no. They just like fucking with us."

The flower sighed heavily. He looked exhausted and...so sad. "They don't even let **_****_** come out to play anymore. The only thing I look forward to now and..."

Papyrus shuddered. Instead of a name coming out of Flowey's mouth, all that came out was garbled noise, like hundreds of different words spoken on top of the each other, utterly incomprehensible. Flowey didn't seem to notice.

He desperately wanted to understand. More puzzles. So many. It made his skull spin. "...Who?"

Flowey nodded towards the human. "They're in there. Somewhere...with Frisk. That's who the human pretends to be, the human's vessel. Both are trapped, you see. Both at the mercy of... _them_. ...You think I was cruel? Heh. At least I knew when to stop."

Again, it came back around to the human. Slowly, Papyrus got to his feet, eyeing Flowey cautiously as if he were a snake, still shaking off the memory of those vines. His former best friend noticed and laughed softly.

"Don't look so scared, _friend_. He grinned widely, but his eyes were empty. "I've lost all desire to hurt you ages ago. Plus, playing with you has lost all its appeal anyway now that you know better. Now that you're broken."

"I'm not..." Papyrus found himself saying, then stopped. He didn't want to even begin to consider the possibility that this was irreversible. The thought was just a distraction. It was all a distraction! Even Flowey!

He pushed the flower out of his mind, eyes on the human. It all came back to _them_. They had the answers. They held the solution to this painful predicament.

Resets.

The human had the power to reset it all. All he needed them to do was bring it back to before the fight and then convince them to stop resetting all together. For Flowey's sake, for Sans'...

He could do this.

Papyrus walked forward and nothing was going to stop him this time. He almost expected Flowey to, feeling a ghost-like sensation of his vines slipping around his ankle. Before he realized what he was doing, he was reaching for his magic to defend himself. His defensive magic was still there, though it felt...different. Foreign and unstable. He wasn't sure if using it was a good idea, but he would if he had to. Luckily, the feeling faded and Flowey didn't move, didn't say a word. The flower watched him with curious eyes. Papyrus didn't even want to contemplate what was going on in that mind of his.

The human seemed to be going through every possible scenario with Shyren by reloading. Papyrus could feel the world shimmer and shift, time reversing then skipping ahead, constantly bringing him back to this moment of the human encountering Shyren in this room. Why? Was it because he was connected to the human in some way? Was that what the glimmering path meant? Did it connect them?

All these questions turned his headache into a full-blown migraine.

He approached the child from behind, vision blurred from the pain. Still, he pushed through it. Up close, Papyrus saw the human clearly for the first time in his life and stopped in his tracks.

It was just a child, boredom itself etched on its nondescript face. But their every move, every word, every action wasn't their own. Papyrus could see it, like a faint shadow cast on top of them. Actually, he felt it more than saw it. He could only describe it as...an influence. That influence....that was the human. It wasn't even part of this world.

"ACT. Hum. ...You hum a sad song," the child said.

What did Flowey call them? Frisk? Frisk and...

Shyren poked her face out from her hair.

"Shyren follows your melody," Frisk continued, narrating.

Papyrus got the impression that everything the human saw and experienced was via Frisk's narration. What actually happened and what they could perceive, were vastly different things. As Shyren sang, her voice a channel for her magic, the human moved Frisk's soul out of the way of the unintentional attacks.

The red soul was what linked them, he realized. It was neither Frisk's, nor the human's. They shared it, but it was clear the human was the only one in control here. But...why?

As the battle continued, Papyrus slowly stepped around them and Frisk finally noticed him. They looked up.

"Shyren seems much more comfortable singing along," Frisk narrated, though their gaze was fixed on Papyrus. "ACT. Conduct."

"You wave your arms wildly. You are now vulnerable to electric attacks."

Papyrus frowned. Was this...was this a joke? Was this a game?

Happier than Papyrus had seen her in a long time, Shyren continued to sing, the magic of her voice once again coalescing into harmful magic that rained down on Frisk. The human dodged them with ease.

Papyrus took a step forward with the intention of getting the human's attention. If Frisk could see him, then maybe...

"FIGHT."

Papyrus froze.

Frisk turned their face back towards Shyren.

"Shyren."

He watched in horror as the child spun gracefully, their tutu floating in the air. They made a short, elegant leap and dealt a swift kick to Shyren's face, their ballerina shoes cutting deep. A direct hit. Shyren didn't even see it coming. She turned to dust as Frisk landed on their feet.

 

*YOU WON!

*You earned 52 XP and 25 gold.

*Your LOVE increased.

 

Much like the invisible force Papyrus had already experienced once too many, the shadow-like influence on Frisk willed them to continue walking east. Papyrus stood there, staring as Frisk and the human left the corridor as if taking a leisurely stroll through Asgore's garden.

Flowey had hinted at the human's true nature, but seeing it up close...

It was very clear to Papyrus that this human...this human...

He didn't know how to put it into words. Everything hurt and he was scared.

So scared.

No, he had to do this. The human...the human had to be stopped.

At all costs.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the tardiness. 
> 
> A cookie for those who caught the obvious direct reference to the obvious best undertale fanfic on the web. ^_^
> 
> Alternate titles for this chapter: A Treasure Trove of Boobies, A Cliff of Boobies.
> 
> ....
> 
> Don't ask.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first long fic on Ao3. In fact, I haven't written something on a website like this since I discovered fanfiction.net/fictionpress.net in High School back in the late 90s/early 2000s. It feels weird to be writing notes and asking people to comment (please do, I love comments XD) again. But here we are! Undertale has really resparked a passion and creativity in my that was certainly dwindling. I am forever grateful for that game and its creator. 
> 
> Also, sorry. This story isn't the happiest, but I was inspired by [this utau cover using Sans and Papyrus little beeps](http://skelebros-covers-nobody-wanted.tumblr.com/post/134944016548/usts-utaureizo-arashifanboy111-and) (I never knew this was a thing! Undertale fandom has taught me so much XD). It was addicting to listen to. After watching the original videos of the utau and the reading the subtitles of both songs, this idea popped into my head. 
> 
> I feel like the internet owes [unrestedjade](http://archiveofourown.org/users/unrestedjade) for this fic. I don't think I would have written it or posted it if it weren't for her encouragement and inspiration (her Flowey Is Not A Good Life Coach fic is soooo goood. GO READ IT). So if you enjoyed it, kudos to her XD
> 
> Thank you again for reading! It's the first time in a long time I've written so publicly, so it really means the world to me.


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